


The Boy That Time Remembered

by NanatheValkyrie295



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: Adric Just Goes Along With It, And With His Space Dad Again, Everybody Finds Them Absolutely Adorable, Fix-It, Gen, He's Just Glad To Be Alive, Just Shenanigans of All Kinds, Team TARDIS FTW, Tegan and Nyssa Are Super Happy To Have Him Back, The Doctor is an Overprotective Parent, Time Shenanigans, dimensional shenanigans, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-09-26 03:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9859835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NanatheValkyrie295/pseuds/NanatheValkyrie295
Summary: AU Post-Doomsday:The Doctor feels pain over the loss of Rose. He intends to just run away and just stay away from theworld for a while. Running away was what he did best.But then he felt something. He followed that feeling and found someone he didn't believe he would ever see again. The Doctor soon realizes that he was given a second chance.With the Boy That Time Forgot.





	1. Just Run, Dear Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU Post-Doomsday:
> 
> The Doctor feels pain over the loss of Rose. He intends to just run away and just stay away from the  
> world for a while. Running away was what he did best.
> 
> But then he felt something. He followed that feeling and found someone he didn't believe he would ever see again. The Doctor soon realizes that he was given a second chance.
> 
> With the Boy That Time Forgot.

“Come on….Come on….” Adric frantically whispered under his breath as his fingers flew across the control panel. So many numbers and codes flew across the screen before him and he tried to keep up with them as he fought back. Behind him, an incessant whine pulsed in the air as the antimatter stabilizer was propelled further.

“I know! I know!” he screamed at the noise even though he was aware that it would not listen nor hear him. Nothing could hear him now as he worked alone on the freighter. Adric glanced up at the view screen to look at the planet he was on a collision course for.

Earth. The planet that the Doctor talked so fondly of and where Tegan had been born and raised. He never truly understood what the Doctor saw in the planet but now here it was before him. It was so much more beautiful then he could have imagined. From swirling blue oceans that covered most of the planet, the shifting land that held forests, grasslands and deserts to the white clouds that looked like torn cotton hovering above the surface. Oh what he would give to be able to go there one more time but he knew that if he didn’t do something that the entire planet will be destroyed, himself along with it.

He continued to type and prayed that the Doctor had a plan.

* * *

 

“Doctor do something!” Tegan’s voice was layered with panic and fear as she stared at the view screen in horror.

“I’m-trying!” The Doctor yelled back as he fiddled with the TARDIS console. He was rewarded with sparks that singed his fingers. He inwardly swore. “It’s no good. The console is damaged. I cannot do anything to fix it.”

“But Doctor, Adric will die if we don’t do something!” The expression of pure heartbreak on Nyssa’s face made the Doctor want to go out and make whoever made her wear it pay. But then he realized in the same second that the person was himself as he was failing her. Failing Tegan. Failing Adric.

Solutions ran rapidly inside his head as he tried to get the TARDIS to respond to him. ‘ _Please, please, please._ ’ He glanced up at the viewscreen where the freighter inched closer and closer to impact. The Doctor closed his eyes against the sight. ‘ _Please do not let him die._ ’ The Doctor continued his efforts to save his young friend. But deep down inside him, he realized that he might be too late… 

* * *

 

Adric swore under his breath as he was rejected once again. He banged his hand against the console and tried to gather his jumbled thoughts together. Everything he put in, every calculation and equation, was dully tossed out like trash. He paced back and forth, trying to understand the problem before him as the klaxon whine grew louder each passing second.

“Something’s missing.” He whispered to himself, his nerves starting to fray under the stress. Adric steeled his fingers together and pressed them against his forehead. He often used this tactic when a particularly frustrating problem was presented to him. It really wasn’t helping now.

“There’s something I’ve forgotten.” He tried to figure out what exactly he was missing but the numbers only continued to swirl unbidden in his vision, an inconceivable sea of digits and integers. He glanced back at the console and blinked rapidly. The numbers slowly becomes a little less unintelligible. “But maybe….” It was like a fog was lifted off his mind( _and it felt so wonderful, the numbers were practically singing to him now_ ) and he rushed forward typing on the console at a rapid rate.

“Of course that’s it!” Adric crowed in excitement. It was easy now, so so easy and why hadn’t he thought of it before? The numbers made so much sense now and Adric felt the knots in his stomach start to unloosen. He could do it, he can stop the freighter from crashing and no one else will have to die, his friends will be safe, the Doctor would be so proud of him and _**everything will be all right**_ –

BOOM!!!

He jumped back as the console exploded in a shower of fiery sparks and flying metal shards. Adric could only stare at it in shock before hearing a gurgling noise. He turned to the right and saw a Cyberman leaning against the doorway, its gun drawn. It raised its head towards him and made a churning noise that sounded almost forced from its chest, almost sounding like laughter(which is impossible for Cybermen were mentally altered to not feel anything, not even satisfaction) before collapsing on the floor.

Adric stared in silence at what had occurred in such a short amount of time (15.45 seconds to be exact) before his mind registered what just happened. His heart stopped cold.

“No, no, no.” He reached for the console, trying to find a way to fix it, but he knew there was nothing he could do. It was ruined, the smell of burnt plastic and smoke leaving a horrible smell in his nose. It was utterly useless.

He stepped back, the energy and fervor he held draining out of him. There was nothing else for him to do. Adric stared at the screen. At the sight of the Earth and the imminent impact he knew was in store for him. His numbers have failed him.

“Well,” Adric said as despair threatened to consume him completely, “now I’ll never know if I was right.”

He reached down and took off his brother’s marsh reed belt, the only thing he had left of his home. He held it to his chest and thought about the life he used to have. Adric wondered if he should have simply stayed and boarded the starliner along with his people. But then he would have never seen all the amazing worlds and the people with them. The unnamed medieval planet controlled by the Three Who Rule, Publius and the villagers, J and the Structure, the Farrian and the planet Ballustra. The Tharils, Traken and its citizens, the Master (such a horrible man, so insane), Mauritz and his citadel, Logopolis, the Castrovalvans, the rebels and their war with the Scientifica. Isopterus, Deva Loka and the Kinda, the Urbankans and the Monarch, the costume party at Cranleigh Halt in 1925 England. K-9. Romana. Nyssa. Tegan. The Doctor.

He thought of all of them and only held his brother’s belt tighter. As he watched the Earth come within a few yards he could only think of one thing.

He didn’t want to die.

Then the freighter crashed and everything disappeared in a fiery crash and the sound of metal giving in. Adric let himself succumb to the darkness. The numbers stopped their song and he knew no more.                                                                                       

* * *

 

…..

…..

_Adric!!!_

……

…..                                                                                         

* * *

 

_The boy woke up._

_He looked around._

_He was lying on a small bed. He was in a medium-sized room, the walls painted a dark red and the floors were made of a shiny wood. To the right was a large book case filled with dozens of books, most of them on mathematics and science. There was a window in the wall in front of him and underneath it laid a desk. To the left was a single door. Everything was quiet._

_The boy did not understand._                                                                                      

* * *

 

_The boy was home._

_His home was a small village located in the deep woodlands of a space colony. The village was highly focused on the well being of themselves and each villager was responsible for each other. The leader, known as the Chooser, was responsible for what the village will take on as a whole. Every day, each villager was assigned a task they had to do along with others. These jobs ranged from growing crops to building the housings to, for the more technologically advanced, making repairs to the machinery they had._

_There were also the exploration teams who gathered information about their new home. They take all of the information that they could gather and run it through the Chooser. Only then does the Chooser send the data to the government who brought them to the colony._

_The boy lived with his mother, father and older brother. They came here to find a better life. It was a life filled with work, but it was better nonetheless._

_The boy was content._                                                                                            

* * *

 

_The boy was confused._

_For the past few days he sees something very strange. Whenever he would go near the river that divided the village from the forest, he would see a woman. She wore robes of fine silk colored dark crimson with gold linings over the wrists, neck line, waist and bottom. The hem line reached the ground and covered her feet. Her hands were raised and covered most of her face but he was still able to see dark hair stop just above her shoulders._

_The boy knew that she was not from here. Her clothes alone told that she came from a privileged life. Also she was not a member of the village. The boy knew every single adult that lived here and the woman was not one of them._

_So where did she come from?_

_Before he could call out to her she turned away and walked into the forest._

_He reported the occurrence to his parents but they only told him that he was simply imagining things. He let it go but the very next day, in the very same spot, the woman was there again. And again. And again for the next five days._

_The boy did not know what was happening._                                                                                           

* * *

 

_The boy was curious._

_After the initial scare he felt because of the woman, he was now interested in her. Who was she? Where did she come from? Did she have a home? Why was she always there across the river?_

_He wanted to know everything about her._

_His family was concerned about him. They wanted him to stop thinking about the woman across the river. They said that he was becoming distracted from his duties to the community._

_“You need to stop all of this foolishness about that woman.” His father told him one day at breakfast._

_“It’s not very good for you to keep looking for someone that doesn’t exist.” His mother told him as she washed the dishes._

_“Come on little brother. Let’s go get some fruit. Maybe that will get your mind off all of it.” His brother led him out of the house to do their chores._

_But he could not forget about the woman. So every day, when there was a lull in the work load, he would sneak off to the river to watch the woman. She did not say anyt_ _hing and neither did him. He simply watched her as she kept her face covered. The woman didn’t have to do anything._

_The boy could wait._                                                                                        

* * *

 

_The boy was worried._

_He has been hearing voices lately. The voices of people he had never heard before._

_“You, young lad - you are going straight home.”_

_“One good solid hope’s worth a cart-load of certainties.”_

_“If I knew everything that was going to happen, where would the fun be?”_

_“It’s the end…. But the moment has been prepared for…”_

_“I feel quite like my old self. Well…. Well… Whoever I feel like, it’s absolutely splendid.”_

_“I think it does us good to be reminded that the universe isn’t entirely peopled with nasty creatures out for themselves.”_

_“An apple a day keeps the…… Ah, never mind.”_

_“Look, if we turn out to be hostile, then fair enough. Until we do, why not give us the benefit of the doubt? Its common sense, really, don’t you think?”_

_“Why do you always have some incomprehensible answer?”_

_“Call yourself a Time Lord? A broken clock keeps better time than you do. At least it’s accurate twice a day. Which is more than you ever are!"_

_“You call three hundred years a small error?”_

_“Adric, I’m warning you, get out of my way!”_

_“The iron bonder. I stepped up the iron rate. They’ll sleep for quite a bit, yet.”_

_“Try and think what the Doctor would do if he were here.”_

_“So much for my friendly aliens.”_

_“What about love?”_

_“Time reveals everything, Adric.”_

_Who were these people? Why did they talk as if they knew him? But really…… It felt like they truly did know him. The boy could not explain it._

_And Adric. Why did they call him that? It wasn’t his name. His name was…._

_……_

_……_

_The boy realized that he did not know his name._

_The boy was frightened._

* * *

                                                                                           

_The boy was determined._

_He wanted to find out what exactly was going on. He knew that everything was not as it seems in the village. Whenever he went to ask why exactly they came to this colony, they would all say ‘for a better life’. But **why**? Why did they specifically leave their homes to come here? They would never say. As if they didn’t have a past at all before coming here._

_He would ask questions. What they were doing here, who was in charge of them and who were they reporting to every week? But he was simply ignored and told not to ask so many questions. But what was wrong with asking questions?_

_And the problem with the names. Every person he walked by, every person he caught a glimpse of, he was startled to find he didn’t know any of their names. He didn’t even know his own family’s name._

_When he asked his mother what his name, she answered “Don’t be silly dear, you already know your name.”_

_“Then remind me what it is.” The boy said in return. But his mother simply told him to stop playing around._

_There was something strange about this village. He thought that he belonged here but now he found that he didn’t. He shouldn’t be here at all. The boy was going to get his answers one way or another._

                                                                                          

* * *

 

_The boy decided to call himself Adric._

_He thought of it as a way to separate himself from this dull society. To remind himself that he shouldn’t be here. Everything seemed so quiet and perfect, but it lacked any humanity. Nobody showed any emotions beyond that of contentment. Everything seemed so false. Wrong. Artificial. Not real._

_No one here was real. But he knew someone who was._

_Adric ran to the river and found her there, just like before. He didn’t know what she was doing there before, but know he understood. She had the answers. Answers to why he was here. How it came to be. How to get out._

_He shuffled into the freezing cold river water and swam towards the bank on the other side. The cold seeped through his clothes and into his skin making his teeth chatter, his limbs feel like they were made of lead. But Adric kept swimming because he knew that this was his last chance. If he turned away then he would never see the woman again and remain here in this closed off village for the rest of his life._

_Finally he reached the bank and heaved himself out of the water. Adric gasped for air, trying to keep down the tremors that racked his body. He looked up and saw the woman had moved on to the edge of the forest. Her face was still covered like she was trying to hide something._

_“You know.” He gasped out._

_She didn’t say a word._

_“You know why I’m here. You know that this place isn’t real. Tell me why I was sent here!”_

_Nothing._

_“Please….” Adric’s voice cracked a little. “I hear things. Voices of people I've never met before. But I know them. I’m sure of it. They’re not from here. So where are they? How can I find them? I just want to know please…. Why am I so different?”_

_He expected her to keep her silence. But to his amazement she started to speak._

_“You were sent here to be happy.” Her voice had a musical lilt to it, as if she wasn’t really there._

_“But I’m not **happy**!” he replied. “Everyone else here thinks that they’re happy but they’re not! And I’m the only one who notices it. So why did you send me here if you knew I wasn’t going to be happy?” _

_“I didn’t.”_

_“Then who did?”_

_Adric stepped closer to her._

_“ **HE** did.” _

_Adric blinked. “Who is he?”_

_“The Doctor.”_

_He doesn’t know why but that name sent a shiver that wasn’t from the cold up his spine. Was it from fear or anticipation or joy?_

_Before he could ask anymore the woman stepped to the side and revealed a dirt path leading into the forest. He didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed it before._

_The woman tilted her head in his direction and slowly removed her hands from his face. He didn’t know what he was expecting to find but it wasn’t this. She looked so…… normal. Her face was pale and covered in small wrinkled from age. There were lines around her mouth came from a lifetime of smiling. Her eyes were a calm ocean blue that looked as if they could go on forever. It felt like she was gazing right into his soul from how she was looking at him. But he was not scared. He had stared into a similar pair of eyes. From a man he could not properly remember._

_“Go now. The Doctor is waiting for you.”_

_Adric didn’t know what compelled him to do so but he walked to the path presented before him. With each step he took he felt the connection he had to this world fade away. When he finally reached the edge, he turned back to the woman. “What do I do now?”_

_For the first time since he saw her face, the woman made an expression. She smiled._

_“Run. Just run. And never look back.”_

_And that’s exactly what he did. He took off into the forest without a hint of hesitation. He ignored the thoughts of his family ( **they are not his** ), the peace the village held ( **no peace for himself** ) and the fact he was running carelessly into an unknown world. He ignored it all._

_The boy was Adric and he had an awful lot of running to do._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I'm finally back here, writing on AO3! Damn, has it been a long time! Years, wasn't it? But yeah, I suck at keeping up with my posting. University has been kicking my ass for the past three years. In fact, I'm typing this not right now in my Social Psychology class.
> 
> You can see how attentive a student I am.
> 
> But yeah, I'm getting back in the groove of fanfiction. I had been mostly focusing on my own original fiction before I finally came back to my roots.
> 
> So this story is based on one of my favorite Doctor Who characters, Adric. I've rather felt the boy never really gets much credit during his run. And then he died. And even if he didn't die, his story endings never really goes well either. That's why I made this story. It had started off as a headcanon, that playing around with Void disturbed several other dimensions as well. And who exactly knows what type of effect that could have on the universe?
> 
> So here we are! I hope that you all enjoy this story. Read and leave comments! It fuels my ego, my pride, and makes me want to write faster and please you all. Sayonara!


	2. The Lost is Found Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Doctor is angsty for a brief time until he's not, Adric is unconscious for a long time until he's not, a short reunion is held, Donna Noble appears, and everyone is confused about everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I managed to post this chapter! 
> 
> I had it all written out and everything, but midterms took over my life so the chapter had to wait. Sorry about that guys. 
> 
> Anyways, thank you to all the lovely people who enjoyed the first chapter. Here's more to feed your hunger. Hope you enjoy!

The Doctor felt numb.

He simply stood there staring at the solid black wall before him. The wall that led millions of Daleks and Cybermen into the Void for all eternity. A wall that previously held a portal to a parallel universe that was nearly overtaken.

A wall that separated him from Rose.

_Rose_. His chest tightened at the thought of her. He was never going to see her again. He was never going to be with his bright pink and yellow human ever again. The one who had made him so much better when all he felt was misery and anger. The one who always stayed with him. The one who always loved him no matter what.

And now she was gone.

After a few more moments, the Doctor turned away from the wall and made his way through the mess of Yvonne Hartman’s office. Papers scattered on the floor, holes in the walls, a desk overturned, he walked past them and outside the office. Once he stepped out, he could hear the sounds of UNIT working to secure the area. He hurried away before any of the soldiers could stop him. He just wanted to leave this place. This place filled with horror, loss, deceit and anger.

He traveled down the staircases to different floors, peeking through each one. He couldn’t help himself. He wanted to see if there were any survivors to this battle. Though he very much doubted there was anyone left alive in this building. They were either dead or had fled once the Daleks and Cybermen began to attack.

He had just reached the second to last floor (and there were just too many floors in this place, how many of them were actually used) when he felt it. He gasped in shock as his Time Lord senses were bombarded with overwhelming sensations. He couldn’t quite place what it was; it was just like what he felt at the Game Station but not quite. While that feeling held such utter **_wrongness (_ ** _should not even exist, a mistake_ ), this one was more….. quiet. It didn’t quite belong but it felt like it had existed before but then fell outside of the here and now. Like something which had gone missing turning up after a long period of time.

The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows. _‘But what could be giving out that feeling?’_

He hurried towards the stairwell and ran down two steps at a time, his coat flapping behind him. He wondered if it was such a good idea to go running off to an unknown thing but then dismisses the thought. He does this all the time. Besides, it could be something potentially dangerous.

The Doctor finally made it to the ground floor and looked around. The feeling was stronger out here. He took out his sonic screwdriver and began scanning the area. He walked around slowly, hopping over pieces of debris as he continued his search. The sensation only became stronger and stronger the further he walked.

Finally, he came upon a slab of concrete. The sonic was going crazy and he checked it. Whatever he was feeling it was behind the concrete. The Doctor walked around the slab and looked down.

And he nearly dropped the screwdriver in shock.

_No_ . He dropped down onto his knees and simply gaped at the body before him. _No_ . It couldn’t be him, it just couldn’t, it was impossible. _No, no ,no_ . But it looked just like him. The same age, same body build, same face, he even recognized those dark green pants he insisted on wearing all the time. The Doctor reached out a trembling hand and ran it through his shaggy black hair (he would never let him cut it, no matter how many times he asked) then reached for one of his cheeks. He cupped it in his still shaking hand. It was warm. So warm. _Alive_.

_Adric._

He stayed like this for a few seconds before pulling away sharply and shaking his head in disbelief. He was hallucinating. Everything from the entire day was catching up to him. He was feeling so much guilt and sorrow from losing Rose that he was starting to see previous companions that he lost throughout his life. The Doctor looked around and almost expected to see Jamie or Peri to come out from around the corner.

He closed his eyes and shook his head harder. _‘Stop it, Doctor.’_ He thought to himself, pressing his fingertips against his temples. _‘Focus on the situation at hand.’_ He opened his eyes and looked forward. The body was still there. Still giving off that indescribable feeling of otherness.

The Doctor bit his lip and thought about his next decision. Then he stood up, bent over and picked up his supposed long-dead companion. He wasn’t that heavy and was wearing nothing except a pair of green pants that was thoroughly shredded. Other than that, there wasn’t a scratch on him, no injuries, perfectly preserved. He would have to get Adric back to the TARDIS to check if there were any internal injuries he was missing. The Doctor shook his head firmly. _‘If it_ **_was_ ** _Adric.’_ He couldn’t get his hopes up.

He hurried across the deserted Canary Wharf to the area where he left the TARDIS in. During the journey, he kept glancing down at the face of the maybe-Adric. Each time he noted more and more similarities ( _his nose was still a bit small, his cheeks were still round but they were thinning out, his eyelashes were still long and gave off tiny shadows over his eyelids_ ). By the time he reached the TARDIS, the Doctor’s hearts were beating rapidly from the hope that was swelling up inside him. That everything was not lost to him, that maybe the fates has decided to throw him a bone instead of constantly crushing him.

The TARDIS gave off a hum when the Doctor touched her doors, careful with the possibly-Adric in his arms. She was questioning him, wondering what was going on and what exactly he was carrying. Why did it feel so _abnormal_?

“I don’t know, Old Girl.” He patted her on the side as he went inside, shifting the most likely-Adric into one arm while he closed the door. “I’ll explain everything in a bit. Just be patient, okay?”  The TARDIS gave him a discontented sound but otherwise let him be. The Doctor was glad for it.

The Doctor hurried through the console room and towards where he remembered the Sickbay was located. _‘Now where was it again? First door on the left, down the corridor, second door on the right, down the corridor, third door on the left, down the corridor, fourth door on the right. Blimey, I don’t remember it being this far away…. Ah, here we go!’_

The Doctor made his way into the Sickbay. It was a large room, stark white with black tiled floors. Lining the walls to the sides were small beds, about twenty-four in all, each with a pair of curtains for privacy. Across the room were various medical devices, some put away in cabinets while others were scattered on metal trolleys. It was rather cluttered as he hadn’t been in here for quite some time.

His long strides led him quickly to the nearest bed and he laid the most definitely-Adric on the pristine white sheets on top. He did not even make a sound at the transition. He had not made any noise during the entire journey to the TARDIS, like his mind was cut off from his body and the physical world.

The Doctor turned from the almost absolutely Adric and began working on the data interface next to the bed. "Interface activation password: 11231963."

"Password accepted." The interface stated in a faint female voice.

"Begin full body scan. Priority is to search for any internal injuries and anomalies within patient. Ranging from tears in muscle ligaments, ruptures in the organs, parasites, probes, and any type of foreign substance, also, conduct biological scan to determine species of patient. Once done, make sure that brain activity correlates with patient."

"Orders accepted." The interface began to follow the orders given to it. A large scanner unfolded itself from the interface and made a slow path across the quite definitely-Adric's body. Information immediately appeared on the interface screen, displaying blood pressure, heart rate, the status and functioning of organs and everything else important. The Doctor took all of this information in as he sat next to the bed, watching the scanner repeat its journey multiple times. He felt the palms of his hands start to sweat from nervousness and anticipation. As the injuries made themselves known ( _muscles in the body weak from having not been used at all, some malnutrition where did that come from, otherwise entirely healthy, how is that possible?)_

"Species confirmed." The interface said after a moment. "Subject: Alzarian."

The Doctor let out a ragged breath, almost like a sob, before burying his face in his hands. There was no other known Alzarians in the universe probably because there was no other Alzarians in this universe at all. It was him. It really was Adric. He was alive. _Alive_. The Doctor felt a hysterical laugh build up in his throat but he squashed it down.

_"No old chap."_ A voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like his third self told him. " _You can't break down. Not yet. You still have work to do. Get to it._ "

With that reasonable sounding pep talk, he got out of the chair and made his way to the lab station. It was when he was mixing the solution that he noticed something.

The otherness. It was gone.

The Doctor frowned deeply at the new development. Adric now felt completely normal. How was that possible? The Doctor looked at the readings on his sonic screwdriver and nearly hit himself for not seeing it earlier.

"Void Stuff!" He ran a hand through his hair. "That's why you felt so strange! You were absolutely drenched in Void Stuff!" Then he was frowning again. "But the only way that would be possible is if you travelled across the Void. No, not just through the Void. You had to be residing within the Void, living in there! But that's just not possible! No living thing can survive in the Void. So how exactly did you survive?"

He didn't get an answer of course. But talking out loud made him feel better.

The Doctor's mind was swimming with billions of ideas and theories as to how exactly his previously dead companion turned out to be not dead at all and had apparently been living in the Void. But he decided that they could all wait. Right now he had Adric to attend to. He turned back to the lab station.

"Right then! First I'm going to have to help with those muscles of yours. A good old stimulant might do the trick, though I'll have to be sure to use the less strong ones. Goodness knows what will happen if I just make your muscles come to attention so quickly. Who knows how long since you moved them!" As he worked he continued to talk to fill the silence of the room, he could feel his hearts start to lighten up just ever slightly. "And then there is the malnutrition you have. Well don't worry Adric I'll fix that right up. Will have to give you some new clothes as well while I'm at it. I don't expect it feels very pleasant to lay around in shredded trousers. Trust me I know..."

* * *

Adric came back to consciousness slowly. His mind felt like it was wading through a persistent swamp. Every time he felt like he made progress, he would only be pulled back to where he had started. But he kept going and finally his mind came back. When he opened his eyes, he had one thought.

_The lights were too damn bright._

He immediately closed his eyes back and groaned weakly. God, who decided to keep the lights that high on? Were they trying to blind him? He really should remind the Doctor about that -

Adric's eyes snapped open again as a flurry of panic came over him. He quickly sat up and ignored the subsequent head rush as his mind raced. The Doctor, the Doctor. Where was he, was he okay, were Nyssa and Tegan okay, did the Cybermen get them-

A pair of hands suddenly appeared and pushed him back against the bed. "Steady now." A male voice said to him. "You shouldn't try to get up so quickly."

That was not the Doctor's voice. Adric looked at the man standing before him, immediately suspicious. The man was tall, about six feet, and only slightly taller than the Doctor. He was whip-cord thin (Tegan would have called him a walking stick) and had narrow features. The Man's eyes were a dark brown color and were wide on his face. His hair, also brown, was short and stuck up in such a way that Adric wondered if he made it that way on purpose. His clothes consisted of a brown suit with blue pinstripes across it, a white shirt and a blue tie. His shoes were the most interesting aspect. They were a pair of white, beaten up Chucks, the same kind of shoes that the Doctor wore. Strange.

"Who are you?" Adric asked, keeping a wary eye on the stranger. "And where am I?"

The stranger smiled softly. "You are in the TARDIS medical bay. How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine." Adric glared at the man. "And you didn't answer my first question. Who are you? Where is the Doctor? And Nyssa and Tegan?" Adric sat up again quickly. "If you've done something to them I swear-!"

"Oh no, no,no, no, no!" The stranger put his hands on his shoulders again. "No they are fine! Absolutely, perfectly fine."

"Then where are they?" He countered. He was steadily getting annoyed by this man's dodging and just wanted a straightforward answer already. "If we are really inside the TARDIS, then where are they?"

The stranger sighed heavily, sat on the bed and took back one of his hands to drag it heavily down his face. Adric faintly realized that he did not have a shirt he looked up again, his eyes held a sadness that seemed to consume his face.

"Adric." How did he know his name? "What is the very last thing that you remember?"

"Wha-" Adric furrowed his eyebrows as he thought about that question. It was all a bit hazy, like his mind was trying to get back into working order. He remembered that they were trying to stop the Cybermen from destroying Earth, the others were stuck on the TARDIS with the Cyber Leader. The freighter had been deadlocked and was on its way to Earth, the scientists and himself were about to evacuate but he had decided to stay back and try to stop it and-

The color drained out of Adric's face as the rest of his memories came back. He had stayed behind to try and break the codes that deadlocked the freighter. He had almost done it when a Cybermen came out of nowhere and destroyed the control panel and then...

"Easy now." The stranger squeezed the shoulder he still had a hold on."You're going to send yourself into a right tizzy if you don't calm down."

"I'm supposed to be dead." Adric stated numbly. The man only continued to look at him. "I am. No one would have been able to get there in time. The calculations were so against it they were astronomical. I actually heard the metal of the ship giving in and felt the fire from the explosion. I should have died. I knew I was going to die. But I didn't. And look-" He examined himself. "No scratches, no burns, nothing! That is just not possible!"

"Adric..." The man tried to grab his other shoulder but Adric shook him off.

"And that's another thing! Why are you here anyways! Why do you care! I have never seen you before in my life! Who are you?! And where is the Doctor?!"

The silence after his outburst was heavy. Adric continued to glare angrily at the man before him.

Finally, after what felt like eternity, the man asked him a question.

"Adric, what is regeneration?"

He was thrown off by the question but answered immediately. "Regeneration is a biological process of the Time Lords. In the moment of near death, regeneration occurs. Every cell in the body is changed completely until they are entirely different from before. Not only does the person change their entire physical appearance, but their personality as well due to the change of chemicals in their brain. But the main essence of the person is kept and they retain all of their memories.A Time Lord is only able to regenerate twelve times before they have a final death." Adric frowned at the stranger again. "Why did you-"

"Look into my eyes, Adric. Look deeply." The stranger asked.

"What?"

"Just. Look."

Feeling oddly compelled by the command, Adric looked into the mans eyes. They appeared normal but the longer he looked at them he saw something. These eyes. They were like a deep well that he could lose himself in if he wasn't careful. They were like miniature pockets of space, dark and spreading out for all eternity. This man was looking right into his soul with this stare, he just knew it. But Adric was strangely not afraid of his soul being bared. He had received a completely identical stare...

... by a pair of blue eyes from a man who took him to see the stars.

Adric gasped. "No..." It couldn't be. He looked at the man in a completely different light. It just couldn't be him. But the idea only continued to grow in his mind, the synapses of his brain kicking into overdrive. _Regeneration is a biological process of the Time Lords... Not only does the person change their entire physical appearance but their personality as well due to the change of chemicals in their brain._ "You're..."

The man nodded. "Yeah."

Adric swallowed heavily. "Doctor?"

The Doctor nodded and gave him a small smile. "Hullo Adric."

The silence reigned supreme for them, the only sound being the hum of the TARDIS, until it was broken.

"You've changed again."

The Doctor scratched the back of his head nervously. "Yes... Regeneration will do that to somebody."

"But how? It was only moments ago that I saw you last. How did you change so quickly?"

The Doctor looked at him in sympathy. "Oh Adric. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But it has been a long time since we've seen each other."

Adric drew in a shaky breath and tried to stay calm. "How long?"

"Not now." The Doctor held him by the shoulders again. "You can ask your questions later."

"But Doctor..." He wanted to ask so much more, he needed to know what has happened since the freighter and the Cybermen. What caused the Doctor to regenerate? Where were Nyssa and Tegan? And how was he still alive when nothing was close enough to save him? But he could feel eyelids getting heavier by the second. The energy he had possessed was quickly draining out of him and he found himself easily pushed back onto the bed.

"No, Adric. Right now you need to rest." The Doctor reached down and pulled the sheets up to Adric's chin."You really need it." He got up and made to leave but stopped when he felt a hand grip his wrist tightly.

"You'll still be here, right?" Adric was looking at him with a desperate look in his eyes, holding his wrist in a firm grip despite being tired. "This isn't a dream? I won't wake up and find myself being held captive or in some kind of simulator machine?"

The Doctor gave him a reassuring smile as he used his free hand to grab Adric's fingers. "Don't worry. I'll still be here."

"You promise?"

The Doctor nodded. "I promise." He gently pried Adric's fingers from his wrist and laid them gently on the bed. "I'm not going to disappear." He brushed the bangs from in front of Adric's face. "Now go to sleep."

And even though he wanted to stay awake and have his questions answered, Adric let himself be pulled from the realm of consciousness. The last thing he was aware of was the feel of the Doctor's hand running through his hair.

* * *

 

When he woke up again, he was alone. Adric didn't try to get up yet as he gathered his thoughts together and figure out the situation he was in.

Subject Number 1: Apparently, he did not die when the freighter crashed into Earth. How that came to be was something he was going to have to ask the Doctor. Also he would need to ask about the fate of the Earth.

Subject Number 2: The Doctor had regenerated while he was incapitated. That was another thing he needed to figure out.

Subject Number 3: Where were Nyssa and Tegan? Nyssa would have most certainly be worried and would have watched over him. And sure, he and Tegan didn't get along all the time, but she would have been just as worried, in her own way. The fact that he hasn't seen either of them at all since awakening told him something was wrong with them.

Subject Number 4: From what the Doctor had told him before, it has been a considerable amount of time since he and the Doctor saw each other. How long exactly? The answer to that question may tell him what happened to Nyssa and Tegan as well.

These facts swirled around inside his head, no explanation forthcoming. He sighed. _'Why can't anything ever be easy?'_

_A_ fter a few more moments of staring at the ceiling, Adric decided that he had rested enough and he would go look for the Doctor. He pulled off his covers and noticed that he was now wearing a large white T-shirt that stopped at his waist with a large yellow star in the middle. It was so baggy that it flapped around every time he moved. Also he noticed that he was wearing a pair of black trousers that nearly covered up his figured that his regular tunic outfit had been destroyed as it was nowhere to be seen.

As his feet touched the floor Adric shivered at the biting cold if the tiles. What he would not give for some socks. When he tried to stand up he nearly found himself on the floor, his grip on the bed preventing his fall. His legs felt like lead and did not seem willing to moving anytime soon.

" _Muscle atrophy._ " Adric pulled himself to his knees. " _I have been immobilized for such an amount of time that I have lost some use in my leg muscles._ " Using the bed railing as leverage Adric managed to stand on his feet, though he was considerably exhausted afterwards. Getting his breath back he started to take slow steps towards the exit. The muscles in his thighs burned from it but he pushed it to the back of his head. He was going to get out of here and he was going to find the Doctor.

" _And then I'm going to get my answers._ " He gained energy at the thought and reached the door at last. He pulled the door open and looked around. The corridors were quiet and empty. Before he could go on Adric noticed something by the door.

A pair of black boots sat innocently in the hallway.

Adric blinked at them. _"Did the Doctor leave them here?_ " He bent down and picked them up. They looked about his size. But why were they-oh. There were socks inside them as well.

Well then. He put on the socks and boots, making sure to tuck in the edges of his trousers into the boots.

Now armed with shoes and socks, Adric continued his trek through the TARDIS corridors. His legs weren't giving him as much trouble as before, now only feeling moderately sluggish. He felt that he had his healing factor to thank for this.

When he finally made it to the console room, Adric had to blink several times to assure that yes, what he was seeing was real.

The console room was so different. Instead of the stark white walls and roundels, the room was so much darker. The room had taken on a type of organic design, possibly coral, and there were five great pillars surrounding the room. The tiled floors were replaced with metal gratings which led on to the platform which housed the console. Black wires criss-crossed from the top of the time rotor, which gave off a dim green light.

Seeing all of this only reinforced to Adric that everything was different. He felt his hands shake slightly and his insides shift nervously from the thought. His entire world had changed and upheaved itself into something completely different. But this time the change happened without him and on a far grander scale then before.

' _Not just a completely different Doctor... But a completely different TARDIS as well. No one else around... Just what has happened while I was gone?'_

He noticed the Doctor on top of the platform. He stood with his back to him, hands held loose at his sides. He was talking to some form of hologram emerging from the console. Who he didn't know but he could just make out a female voice.

"And I suppose...since this is my last chance to say it..." He sounded so sad. Adric had never heard such sadness coming out of him, even though it was another voice with another face. Not when Romana had decided to stay behind with the Thrails or when Nyssa had lost her father and entire planet. He sounded absolutely heartbroken.

" Rose Tyler... I-" Just as he said those words, the hologram sputtered before going out completely. The Doctor stood there, his arm stretched forward as if to keep the image from leaving. Slowly he put the arm back to his side. The Doctor circled the console and reached forward to pull down a lever.

The familiar sound of the TARDIS de-materializing should have been comforting to Adric. He felt his feet jerk beneath him as they travelled through the Time Vortex. But he didn't pay attention to any of these things. He kept his eyes solely on the Doctor. The Doctor who braced himself harshly on the console, who stared ahead with a tired face and eyes close to shedding tears.

He wanted to go to him. He wanted to walk up to the Doctor and tell him that everything was going to be all right. But he didn't move, so shocked he was at seeing him like this. This type of situation was so out of his depth that didn't know how to act. Seeing the man he looked up to so haggard. Seeing the one who always found the answer so lost.

Seeing the Doctor so _broken_.

It was just at that moment a burst of golden light engulfed the room. The Doctor's head shot up just as Adric turned his head to the side.

A woman in a long white dress stood there. She had, quite literally, appeared out of nowhere.

"What?" The Doctor's mouth dropped open in surprise.

' _Huh?'_ Adric looked at the scene in shock.

The woman turned towards the Doctor and let out a squeak of surprise.

"What?" The Doctor had apparently been reduced to one word sentences.

The woman was the first to recover.

"Who are you?" she asked in a loud voice.

"But..." The Doctor tried to speak but he was ruthlessly cut off.

"Where am I?"

"What?"

"And what the hell is this place?!" the woman finished the question with a shout and glared at the Doctor heatedly.

"...What?" The Doctor finally said.

"What?" Adric couldn't help but repeat him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooyeah! Number two finally down! I'm so proud of myself. Now I just need to get Chapter 3 done.
> 
> Good news and bad news for you guys on that front.
> 
> Bad news, I haven't finished writing it yet. Good news, I'm on Spring Break from university for the next week, so I'll have plenty of time to write it! Again, thank you to all the lovely people who have read my story. Especially the ones who left kudos and my lone commentator.
> 
> Thank you NekoRyuuKo!


	3. The Runaway Bride Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Doctor is all over the place, Donna Noble is the most confused woman in the world, and Adric is trying not to let his migraine show. He fails.
> 
> Also, a homicidal Robot Santa Claus driving a taxi across London. Because that's a thing now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot woooot!! New chapter right here baby! Apologies if I kept anybody waiting on me.

Chapter 3: The Runaway Bride Part 1

 

"Tell me where I am! I demand you tell me right now where am I!"

 

"Inside the TARDIS."

 

"The what?"

 

"The TARDIS."

 

"The what?"

 

"The TARDIS!"

 

"The what?!"

 

"It's called the TARDIS!"

 

"That's not even a proper word! You're just saying things!"

 

Adric could only stare in helpless confusion as the Doctor and the mystery woman argued with each other. Even though he was really getting tired of feeling confused, he did not know what to do here. Neither of his Doctor's had been much for arguments. Sure, there were disagreements now and then, but not the type of volatile bickering that was happening before him. He was usually ‘Now you listen to me young man.’ and the like. And besides, he wasn't one for playing peacemaker. That was the Doctor's job. Or it used to be. Was it still? 

 

He really hated being confused.

 

"I'm having the police on you! Me and my husband, as soon as he is my husband, we're going to sue the living backside off you!"

 

The Doctor looked like he was going to retort with a scathing insult of his own but Adric decided that it was time for him to step in. He stepped away from the doorway and walked determinedly up the grated walkway. "Doctor!"

 

The Doctor paused and turned, looking at Adric in surprise. "Adric! You're supposed to be sleeping!"

 

Adric barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. "Well apparently I'm not. And besides I don't need to sleep anymore. I've had enough rest for one lifetime."

 

"But still." The Doctor took on a concerned look as he walked towards Adric and put his hands on his shoulders. "You're not even supposed to be walking around yet."

 

"I'm  _ fine _ , Doctor."

 

Unbeknownst to the two aliens, the mystery woman was slowly making her way around the castle before making a run for the door.

 

The Doctor noticed but was too late in his warning. "No, wait a minute! Wait a minute! Don't!"

 

The woman opened the doors to the TARDIS and immediately stopped dead. The woman gasped and Adric couldn't blame her. A swirl of colors lay outside, stretching out on a fine black canvas that went on forever. Stars shone like beacons within the nebula, making the colors stand out even more. Adric was mesmerized as he looked at the sharp reds and fluorescent pinks. He didn't believe he would see a sight as wonderful ever again when he stood on the freighter. He didn't realize he had moved until he was standing in the doorway of the TARDIS, the Doctor standing between him and the woman.

 

"You're in space." The Doctor put his hands in his pockets. "Outer space. This is my space ship. It's called the TARDIS."

 

"....How am I breathing?"

 

"The TARDIS is protecting us." The Doctor waved one of his hands in an all-composing gesture. "Shielding us from falling into space."

 

The woman took in a shaky breath. "Who are you?"

 

“I’m the Doctor.”

 

“What about him?” she asked, gesturing towards the young man who appeared out of nowhere.

 

“Hmm?” The Doctor turned towards him. “That’s Adric.”

 

“I can introduce myself well enough Doctor.” Adric groused.

“Of course you can, Adric.” The Doctor smiled softly at him before turning back to the woman. “And you. What’s your name?”

 

“Donna.” The woman tilted her chin upwards. “Donna Noble.”

 

“Human?” The Doctor asked.

 

“Yeah.” She eyed the Doctor. “Is that optional?”

 

The Doctor shrugged one shoulder. “Well it is for us.”

 

“You?” Donna looked between the both of them rapidly. “You’re both aliens?”

 

“Yes.” Adric cut in before the conversation could go on any longer than it already has. “We are.” 

 

The three of them continued to stare off into the bright nebula before them, letting the information exchanged sink in. A few moments later, the silence was finally broken by Donna. “It’s freezing with these doors open.” She stated, wrapping her arms around herself.

 

The Doctor nodded and reached out to close the doors of the TARDIS. He turned and quickly made his way back to the control console. Adric hurriedly followed after him and Donna slowly walked after them, still nervous about the aliens before her.

 

“Right.” The Doctor started to pace the console. “I don’t understand that and I understand everything. This- this can’t happen!” 

 

“What can’t happen, Doctor?” Adric asked him, watching him as he began to rapidly manipulate the controls.

 

“Her!” the Doctor gestured towards Donna. “There is no way a human being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside. It must be-!”

 

The Doctor reached into a tool belt on the edge of the console, pulled out an ophthalmoscope and began to intently examine Donna in her eyes. She flinched back slightly.

 

“Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field?”

 

Adric perked up slightly. This, this was something that he can understand better. He can help with this. “Something might be pulling her into the alignment with the Chronon shells, Doctor?”

 

“Possibly.” The Doctor took back the ophthalmoscope and pocketed it. “Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix?” he continued to mutter to himself, paying no heed to the increasingly annoyed woman before him. “Maybe…”

 

The Doctor’s head snapped back from the force of the slap Donna delivered to him. Adric blinked rapidly in shock, his jaw dropping. It would occur to him later that he has seen the Doctor injured various other times but right now he was stuck on the sheer audacity (or bravery) that she had to just go and slap him like that. 

 

The Doctor managed to snap himself out of his shock enough to incredulously ask “ _ What was that for _ ?!”

Donna glared at him furiously. “GET ME TO THE CHURCH!”

 

The Doctor was just seconds away from yelling back ‘I don’t want you here anyway!’ but then he looked towards Adric. He subtlety reeled in his irritation at the situation and drew on his deep well of calm. He couldn’t go on and start yelling things like that while Adric was here. He’s supposed to be the adult. He must act responsibly.

 

‘ _ Must set a good example. Must set a good example. Must set…. Blimey, I feel like my fifth self again. And not in a good way! _ ’

 

With great difficulty, he said calmly. “Fine. Alright. Where exactly is this wedding?” The other passengers blinked at his rapid mood change but Donna immediately started to rattle off the address. “Saint Mary’s, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England.” Then she added in a scathing tone. “Earth. The Solar System.”

 

Adric’s head twisted around so fast he was surprised he didn’t get a crick in his neck. His hands gained a slight tremble. He could hear the displaced bride accusing the Doctor of kidnapping others as she found a blouse on the railings. But right now he did not care because she said _Earth._ His head started to get dizzy. She said that she was from **_Earth_** _._

 

“Earth?” His throat was painfully dry as he voiced his question. “You said you were from Earth?”

Donna looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and irritation. “Well of course I’m from Earth! All humans come from Earth, Star Boy!” 

 

But that was impossible, that was so impossible. She could not have come from the planet Earth because the Earth was gone. It had been destroyed in the 20 th century, when he had failed to save it from the crashing freighter ship that he stayed behind on to stop. The way Donna acted and her speech patterns implied that she came from the 20 th century, possibly further in time. So how was it possible for her to exist if the Earth was gone? Adric reached for the railing, feeling as if his legs was about to give out again.

 

Then the TARDIS began to dematerialize, started to shake and he really had to hold onto the rails before he fell down.

 

  * ****Linebreak! Linebreak! –****



 

 

“I said ‘ _ Saint Mary’s’ _ . What sort of Martian are you? Where’s this?”

 

After a bumpy flight and landing (and really, has the Doctor actually gotten worse at driving?), the three of them had landed in an alleyway. Adric had taken one look around and felt himself driven into shock. It looked so much different than the picture that Tegan had described to him and Nyssa on some occasions. But he could see the tall buildings made of concrete and glass, the highway filled with cars and trucks. But the most important thing of all was that he could  _ see _ living humans. He saw them walking down the pavements, busy in their own little lives, hear them talking to each other and just  **_being_ ** .

 

Adric backed up slowly and pressed himself against the door of the TARDIS.  _ ‘Am I hallucinating?’  _ he thought to himself as he stared at the concrete below his feet.  _ ‘If I am, then it is a very nice hallucination.’ _

 

“Something’s wrong with her.” Adric lifted his head up and saw the Doctor dash back into the TARDIS, while Donna stayed outside. “The TARDIS, it’s like she’s recalibrating!” his voice echoed from within the depths of the TARDIS. While the Doctor continued to babble explanations to himself, Donna began to make a slow circuit around the disguised ship. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as she continued her actions, becoming more surprised by the second. Honestly, didn’t she understand already? It was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. Big deal, though a part of himself was telling him that these thoughts were due to a combination of fatigue and too many shocks. Adric thunked the back of his head on the TARDIS and closed his eyes, trying to fend off the emerging migraine.

 

“Adric!” Adric’s eyes snapped open and he caught sight of Donna putting her hands up to cover her mouth before the Doctor emerged from the depths of the TARDIS. He stops and looks at Adric with worry. “Are you alright, Adric?” He reached forward to rest a hand on Adric’s forehead. Adric shivered at how cold it felt. “Not getting sick, are you?”

 

Adric pushed the hand away. “I’m okay Doctor.” He ignored the migraine and looked over the Doctor’s shoulder. “Doctor, is she supposed to be walking away like that?” The Doctor turned around and saw the bride walking rapidly out of the alleyway.

 

“Donna!” He grabbed Adric’s arm and steered them both to the escaping woman. They caught up with her and kept in step. “Donna.”

 

“Leave me alone.” Donna determinedly ignored the man beside her as she continued to walk away. “I just want to get married.”

“Come back to the TARDIS.” The Doctor tried to persuade her, gesturing backwards to the blue box.

 

Donna shook her head resolutely. “No way. That box is too weird.”

 

“Oh come on.” Adric voiced his own opinions on the matter. “It’s bigger on the inside, that is all.” It was as simple as that. Why did people always overreact when they go inside the TARDIS? By all things considered, it was not the strangest thing that could exist in the universe.

 

“Oh! That’s all?” Donna mocked back at him before glancing down at her wrist watch. “Ten past three. I’m going to miss it.”

 

“You can phone them. Tell them where you are.” The Doctor suggested.

 

Donna looked at him. “How do I do that?”

 

“Haven’t you got a mobile?”

 

Donna snorted. “I’m in my wedding dress. It doesn’t have pockets. Who has pockets? Have you ever seen a bride with pockets? When I went to my fitting at Chez Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is give me pockets!” she was yelling by the end of her rant and gesturing madly.

 

A moment of silence descended before-

 

“What’s a mobile?” Adric asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The Doctor scratched the back of his head while Donna stared at him.

 

“You don’t know what a mobile is?” Donna rested her fists against her hips. “You’re some kind of advanced alien or whatever and you don’t know what a mobile is, Star Boy?”

 

“Well excuse me for not living up to your expectations on how alien encounters should be! You’re not exactly a dream come true.” The young Alzarian let his irritation get the better of him, hiding the slight embarrassment he was feeling at not knowing something. Adric frowned then repeated. “Star Boy?”

 

“Alright. That’s enough.” The Doctor interrupted before the argument could continue. He turned to Donna. “This man you’re marrying? What’s his name?”

 

“Lance.”

 

“Good luck, Lance.” The Doctor muttered under his breath and grinned when that managed to bring a tiny smile to Adric’s face. Unfortunately for him, Donna saw his grin.

 

“Oi!” She stalked up to him and poked a finger sharply into his chest. “No stupid Martian is going to stop me from getting married. To hell with you!” With that, she turned around and continued walking to the street.

 

The Doctor opened and closed his mouth rapidly. “I’m – I’m not- I’m not from Mars.”Without looking, he grabbed Adric by the arm again and pulled him along in Donna’s direction.

 

“Doctor?” Adric was starting to deflate slightly now that the argument had stopped. The Doctor stopped and looked down at him. “Are you sure we should keep following her? It looks like she can take care of herself just fine.”

 

The Doctor shook his head. “No, Adric. Something caused her to appear on the TARDIS. She didn’t do it by herself. And whatever caused it may still be keeping track of her. So we have to make sure that whatever that is does not do anything more to her. Understand?” Adric nodded slightly. “Good.” The Doctor smiled brightly at him. “Now come on, we need to catch up with her.”

 

While they ran up to the bride, Adric kept thinking.  _ ‘When this kind of stuff happened to people, when he was in the body I met him in, he wouldn’t have taken all of this effort to watch over them. And even in his next body, he would not have stayed with them the entire time. He would have just run off to stop the impending danger and would only pop back to tell the people it was over and done with. He didn't really take the time to get to know the people.’ _

 

The two aliens managed to reach the street where Donna was attempting to catch a ride to the church, although with very little success.

 

“Taxi!” Donna threw her hand up into the air but the vehicle drove past her. Donna lowered her hand and wondered “Why’s his light on?”

 

“There’s another one!” The Doctor pointed towards another incoming taxi.

 

“Taxi! Oi!” The bride to be tried to hail another ride but this one ignored her just like the first one. And the next one did the same thing. Adric stared, confused by this human activity.

 

“Do you have this effect on everyone?Why aren’t they stopping?” the Doctor wondered as they were routinely ignored by the drivers.

 

“They think I’m in fancy dress.” Donna despaired.

 

“Stay off the sauce, darling!” Another driver shouted at the trio.

 

“They think I’m drunk.”

 

“You’re fooling no one, mate!” One more driver states.

“They think I’m in  _ drag _ .” Now Donna just sounded insulted. Adric blinked in confusion.

 

“What is drag?” he asked. Donna stared at him while the Doctor decided that yes, time to solve the transportation problem because he was most definitely  _ not  _ having that conversation with his teenage companion anytime soon. Or perhaps never at all.

 

The Doctor raised his hand. “Hold on, hold on.”  He put two fingers to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle that had Adric reach up to cover his ears. Tires squealing had him look up and catch sight of a taxi screeching to a halt in front of them.

  
  


Several minutes later they were unceremoniously tossed out of the taxi and left standing on the curb.

 

“And that goes double for your mother!” As Donna continued to scream abuse at the taxi driver, Adric was left to wonder if there was something in the atmosphere that caused humans to act so irrational and/or emotional. It would certainly explain a lot. He sighed heavily and rested his head against a pole, wondering if he would be able to get away with staying right in this spot.

 

“Come on, Adric!” Apparently not as the Doctor appeared out of nowhere and began herding him in another direction. “Where are we going?” he asked as he tried to keep up. How could the man run so much? 

 

“Money.” The Doctor replied. “We need money for a cab. Donna’s trying to phone somebody to tell them she’s alright.”

 

Adric’s eyebrows furrowed when they came to a line for a machine implanted into a wall. “Are you sure that it’s a good idea to leave her alone like that?”

 

The Doctor waved his hand dismissively as he waited impatiently for the ATM. “It’s all right. What’s the worst that could happen?”

 

 

  * ****Linebreak! Linebreak! -****



 

 

“You were saying?!” Adric shouted as they tore through the crowd, dodging civilians who rushed for the banknotes flitting in the air.

 

“No time for arguments, we gotta go now!” the Doctor shouted back as they rushed back into the TARDIS. The Doctor began pulling levers and Adric only just managed to grab onto the railing before he was sent sprawling onto the platform. The engines churned while the Doctor looked at the monitor screen.

 

“Where is she, where is she?” the Doctor chanted as he stared at the screen. A sudden beeping had him shouting “Aha!” and pulling another lever on the control panel. The TARDIS lurched and Adric lost his footing, falling to the ground, still clinging to the railing. Sparks shot out of the console. 

 

“Behave!” The Doctor admonished while he hit the console with a hammer he pulled out. Adric stared in disbelief.

 

“Why the hell did you hit the console?! And where did that hammer even come from?!” he gestured at the tool in question with one hand. 

 

“It works!” The Doctor replied, returning to the controls.

 

“That wasn’t really an answer! And you didn’t even answer my second question!”

 

“Never mind that, come hold the controls for me!” The Doctor answered back and gestured for Adric to come over. Adric looked at him like he had lost his mind.

 

“What?!”

 

“Just come on!” With a weary sigh, Adric slowly got up and made his way to where the Doctor was standing. He had to be careful because the TARDIS was still moving around erratically. When he finally reached the controls, the Doctor pointed to a specific lever.

 

“Here’s the control lever! Hold onto it and keep us steady!” The Doctor instructed, waiting for Adric to grip the lever before rushing to the doors. They open and Adric got a good view of the score of cars rushing on the roadway. He valiantly resisted the urge to bang his head on the console.

 

The Doctor leaned out of the open doors. “Open the door!” he shouted at the taxi across from him.

 

“Do what?” He could hear Donna answer back.

 

“Open the door!”

 

“I can’t, it’s locked!” The Doctor solved that problem by pulling out his sonic screwdriver. Donna managed to get the window open. 

 

“Santa’s a robot!” she despaired.

 

“Donna, open the door.” The Doctor called out.

 

“What for?”

 

“You’ve got to jump!”

 

“I’m not blinking flip jumping. I’m supposed to be getting married!”

 

_ ‘Is getting married really that important to her?’ _ Adric thought to himself as he kept the TARDIS steady. He didn’t ponder it any further as the taxi accelerated away from them, taking Donna with it.

 

“Adric, after them!” The Doctor shouted. Adric pulled the control lever and, with several bangs coming from the console, the TARDIS gave chase. Sparks rose up from the console. Adric hissed when some of them stung his hands. He fought to hold on when they bounced off the roof of another car. After several moments, he managed to level them next to the taxi and the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to stop the robot driver. 

 

“Listen to me! You’ve got to jump!” The Doctor shouted at Donna again.

 

“I’m not jumping on a motorway!”

 

“Whatever that thing is, it needs you.” The Doctor tried to reason with her. “And whatever it needs you for, it’s not good! Now, come on!”

 

“I’m in my wedding dress!” Donna despaired.

 

“IS THAT REALLY THE MOST DISTRESSING PIECE OF INFORMATION HERE?!” Adric shouted at her from the console. Sparks flew again. 

 

“Yes, you look lovely! Come on!” The Doctor tried reasoning once more.

 

Reluctantly, Donna opened the taxi door and looked out the speeding motorway. The Doctor held his hand out to her. Her terrified eyes met the Doctor’s.

 

“I can’t do it!” She shouted.

 

“Trust me.”

 

“Is that what you said to her? Your friend? The one you lost?” Donna yelled and Adric was suddenly very interested in what was being said between the two adults. “Did she trust you?”

 

‘ _ Who?’  _ Adric thought in confusion. He vividly remembers the scene he came upon in this room, before Donna made her surprise appearance. Of the Doctor, with tears choking up his voice, wishing a goodbye to a faint image of a woman, her form shattering with static.

 

“ _ And I suppose….since this is my last chance to say it...Rose Tyler...I-” _

 

Those words were expelled from his mouth, like it filled him with a grievous pain to even consider saying them at all. And what a strange concept it was, the Doctor he knew before (number 4 and 5) were not ones for emotional displays, not ones who talked about their feelings with other people. But this Doctor…. It was like he couldn’t keep his feelings to himself. It just spewed out of him, like an errant fire hydrant broken on a street corner.

 

“Yes she did.” The Doctor was speaking again. His voice was softer now, filled with an undertone Adric couldn’t quite describe. “And she is not dead. She is  _ so _ alive. Now,  **_jump_ ** !” 

 

That last word was shouted loudly and Donna, with one final look at the road, took a deep breath, screwed her eyes shut, and jumped right into the TARDIS. The Doctor caught her and both adults landed roughly on the floor of the console room. Adric finally lifted the lever up and the TARDIS doors shut, the ship lifting them away from Robo-Santa and his Taxi of Doom.

 

Adric almost wished he was back in Castrovalva. Surely that time wasn’t as stressful as now. 

 

 

  * ****Linebreak! Linebreak! -****



 

 

The Doctor gave several more bursts from the fire extinguisher before it finally gave out. The three of them had landed on a rooftop in an area called Shoe Lane. After rescuing Donna, the TARDIS had only managed to last only several more minutes before problems started to arise.

 

And then the console burst into flames. 

 

So there they were, Adric and Donna standing on a rather dirty roof while the Doctor took care of the fire. Adric looked somewhat frazzled, his hair sticking up in several places and shirt bearing several burnt patches. He had several more tiny burns on the palms of his hands.

 

Donna looked rather traumatized.

 

Donna’s dress, on the other hand, somehow managed not to take any sort of damage, staying as pristine as when she first arrived. 

 

Adric could feel the migraine building in the back of his head again, just waiting to burst out. 

 

The Doctor finally stopped with the fire extinguisher and tossed it to the side. “The funny thing is, for a spaceship, she doesn’t really do that much flying.” He took a quick peek into the TARDIS and grimaced. “We’d better give her a couple of hours.” He turned to his two companions. “You two all right?”

 

“You know, Doctor.” Adric started slowly. His voice was strangely calm. “I thought our adventures from before were the epitome of crazy. The Three Who Rule, who were essentially vampire astronauts, and the Great Vampire who you killed with a rocket. The Master destroying a part of the universe. Then that same man kidnapping me and using me as a living battery. The Kinda, who I dearly wish hadn’t existed.”

 

Donna had snapped out of her funk when the words ‘vampire astronauts’ escaped his mouth. She was now staring at him in disbelief. The Doctor was looking at Adric with some worry.

 

“Then there was the deal with the Scientifica. The time I had to travel through a warzone located on an atom. And I don’t even want to get into the insanity that was Mauritz. All of that has occurred, so I shouldn’t even be surprised by what happens to you or around you anymore.”

 

“And yet.” Adric felt a twitch move up his spine. “Somehow, you have managed to surprise me once again by the insanity that inhabits your life. That entire chase was absolutely crazy.  _ You _ are absolutely crazy.”

 

Several seconds after that statement, Adric grinned at the Doctor. “And I absolutely  _ love _ it!” he finished.

 

The Doctor grinned back and patted Adric firmly on the shoulder. “Thatta boy, Adric! Nerves of steel, you have!” Adric wouldn’t really call it nerves of steel, more like ‘very assimilated’ to the crazy that he’s not prone to freak outs anymore. But he took the compliment in stride, cheeks flushing from both the praise and the adrenaline high still burning in his veins.

 

The Doctor turned back to Donna, who had gone back to morose once more. “How about you? Are you all right?”

 

“Doesn’t matter.” she replied quietly.

 

“Did we miss it?”

 

“Yeah.” she answered sadly. 

 

The Doctor fidgeted a little. “Well, you can book another date.” 

 

“Course we can.”

“You’ve still got your honeymoon.”

“It’s just a holiday now.”

 

Adric shifted nervously at the gloomy tone in Donna’s voice. “For what it’s worth, we’re sorry that you missed it.” he told her gruffly. He didn’t apologize often, but she looked so sad that he felt the need to say something.

 

Donna waved off the apology. “It’s not your fault.”

 

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. “Oh? That’s a change.” Adric felt his lips twitch at the comment.

 

Donna sighed. “Wish you had a time machine.” she said, glancing at the Doctor. “Then we could go back and get it right.” 

 

“Yeah, yeah.” The Doctor agreed nervously. “But, even if I did, I couldn’t go back on someone’s personal timeline.” Donna gave him a mildly suspicious look. “Apparently.”

 

Adric gave the Doctor a questioning glance but the man only gestured for him to remain quiet on the subject. Ah, no telling her about the time travel. At least, not yet. 

 

Donna sighed tiredly and wandered to the edge of the roof, sitting down with a huff. Her dress was spread out across her lap, her veil perched precariously on her head, red hair in disarray. The Doctor sat on her right side while Adric, after a few seconds of hesitation, took a seat on her left. The Doctor shrugged off his suit jacket and put it around Donna’s shoulders.

 

“God, you’re skinny.” Donna complained, clutching the jacket closer to herself. “This wouldn’t fit a rat.”

 

The Doctor huffed in amusement. “Oh and you’d better put this on.” He reached into a suit pocket and pulled out a gold ring.

 

“Oh, do you have to rub it in?” Donna groaned. Adric rolled his eyes at her.

 

“It’s not like he’s purposely trying to.” he grumbled. Donna shot a half-hearted glare at him.

 

“Those creatures could trace you. This is a bio-damper.” The Doctor held up the ring. “Should keep you hidden.” He reached over and slotted the ring onto her hand.

 

“With this ring, I thee bio-damp.” he said with mild amusement. Donna huffed.

 

“For better or for worse.” Adric snickered. 

 

“In sickness and in health.” he added. They all sniggered at that line. 

 

Donna shoved the Doctor lightly. “So, come on then. Robot Santas, what are they for?”

 

“Ah.” The Doctor nodded his head. “Your basic robo scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They’re trying to blend in. I met them last Christmas.”

 

“Why, what happened then?” Donna asked.

 

The Doctor looked at her funny. “Great big spaceship hovering over London? You didn’t notice?”

 

Donna shrugged lightly. “I had a bit of a hangover.”

 

Adric looked at her in disbelief. “You missed an alien invasion because of a hangover?” he questioned. “What in the world were you doing the night before?”

 

“Quiet, you.” Donna shot back.

“Now calm down, you two.” The Doctor mollified the both of them. He pointed at an apartment building several dozen yards away. “I spent Christmas Day just over there, the Powell Estate, with ….” Here the Doctor paused for several seconds before he continued. “This family. My friend, she had this family. Well, they were. Still, gone now.”

 

Adric glanced worriedly at the Doctor when he made that pause but didn’t say anything. This friend the Doctor had lost was like an overarching shadow to him. Even when the man was able to shift through conversations and actions without a shred of difficulty, there was still a certain dimness to his expressions that told Adric that he was hurting. Hurting very badly. He picked at a loose string on his shirt.

 

He remembered how the Doctor was when Romana and K-9 left with the Tharils in E-Space. Oh, the man had still been the manic, adventure-chasing individual that he met those many months ago. But there had been an undercurrent of repressed emotion. He hadn’t noticed it the first time around as he was too busy feeling bitter with the Doctor’s condescending attitude. And after he regenerated, he had to deal with him being an entirely new person and the shouting matches with Tegan every other day. Nyssa had been alright. She was an intelligent individual whom he could discuss science and math in depth with. 

 

But she had been an intruder. She and Tegan both were intruders to the careful balance the Doctor and he cultivated for themselves. And he had never quite forgiven them for doing so.

 

Adric looked forward, observing the London skyline. The buildings rose up from the ground like weeds of stone and metal. The sky was a calm cerulean, the clouds pick-pocketing the edges.  

 

At least until he was seconds from death, where he realized just how futile those feelings were. How they meant nothing in the wake of the end.

 

He tuned back into the conversation happening between the two adults, catching the tail-end of Donna’s sentence. “...of my CV. Come on, it’s time to face the consequences. Oh, this is going to be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian boy.”

 

“Yeah. I’m not from Mars.” The Doctor reiterated.

 

Adric blinked. “Consequences? What in the world for? You literally disappeared into  _ thin air _ . How is any of that your fault?”

 

“Yeah, well, they’re not going to see it like that, Star Boy.” Donna answered. “If I go back there, fine as rain, everyone’s probably gonna think it was some trick or something. Me trying to get some more attention”

 

“That makes no sense.” Adric deadpanned. 

 

“Just let it go, Adric.” The Doctor reached over and patted the young male on the shoulder. “Humans are rather illogical like that.” 

 

“I’ve figured that out ages ago, Doctor.” Adric replied. “No need to remind me of the fact.”

 

Donna sighed gustily. “Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone’s going to be heartbroken.”

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, I'm finally back here, writing on AO3! Damn, has it been a long time! Years, wasn't it? But yeah, I suck at keeping up with my posting. University has been kicking my ass for the past three years. In fact, I'm typing this not right now in my Social Psychology class. 
> 
> You can see how attentive a student I am.
> 
> But yeah, I'm getting back in the groove of fanfiction. I had been mostly focusing on my own original fiction before I finally came back to my roots.
> 
> So this story is based on one of my favorite Doctor Who characters, Adric. I've rather felt the boy never really gets much credit during his run. And then he died. And even if he didn't die, his story endings never really goes well either. That's why I made this story. It had started off as a headcanon, that playing around with Void disturbed several other dimensions as well. And who exactly knows what type of effect that could have on the universe?
> 
> So here we are! I hope that you all enjoy this story. Read and leave comments! It fuels my ego, my pride, and makes me want to write faster and please you all. Sayonara!


End file.
